


The Same Compartment

by SpartFarkles



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Memories, Prisoner of Azkaban
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-09
Updated: 2014-02-09
Packaged: 2018-01-11 16:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1175198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpartFarkles/pseuds/SpartFarkles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by this post on tumblr: http://afraid-of-zombies.tumblr.com/post/70693826721/malallory-do-you-ever-think-about-how-remus</p>
<p>Remus falls asleep on the Hogwarts Express in the same compartment he'd always shared with his best friends and wakes to find someone unexpected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Same Compartment

**Author's Note:**

> Written after seeing this post on tumblr go around again:  
> http://afraid-of-zombies.tumblr.com/post/70693826721/malallory-do-you-ever-think-about-how-remus

Remus tried not to remember as he climbed onto the Hogwarts Express an hour or so early, eager to beat the rush. The moment he boarded the train, however, he realized that his attempts would be in vain. Already he could hear the phantom voices of his long gone friends. He supposed it was for the best, really, since the flood of memories would only get worse once he set foot in the one place he'd ever truly felt safe for the first time since the deaths and imprisonment of his dearest friends.

His walk through the train made Remus remember happier times when his friends were alive and the only thing they had to worry about was doing well on their exams that year. He could almost see the way James and Sirius would shove each other down the walkway to the compartment they'd always claimed as their own, Peter following meekly behind them, of course. The laughter and jokes were almost audible even now.

It didn't take him long to find the compartment he wanted- the very one he'd first met the people he would call his best friends for the rest of his life, even if they weren't around to hear it anymore. Trembling hands slid open the door. It was probably foolish to sit here, but he couldn't help it. Remus found himself now wanting to remember them, as if it would somehow make them more real again. He took the spot he'd called his every year and closed his eyes.

_11 year old Remus, dressed in shabby clothes that did a poor job of hiding the scars, was just as nervous then when he was trying to pick a spot on the train to sit. He'd arrived early mostly out of nerves, and instead of spending time saying his goodbyes, chose to just board the train early. Once he'd found an out-of-the-way compartment, he sat down and tried to calm down. He was nervous, of course he was, but he'd been assured that nothing bad would come to him or anyone else at Hogwarts. Remus so desperately wanted to believe that._

_He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm down enough to maybe sleep. The night before had been restless and fitful, full of nervous energy and bad dreams. A nap would probably do him good, especially since he suspected that sleep might be difficult to come by tonight, as well. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.  
His nap, however, was short lived. There were loud noises and raucous laughter echoing around the compartment. His eyes slid open and he noticed two boys about his age in the compartment. Remus shifted and sat up, figuring he must have pressed his head up against the window when the train started. The boys took a moment to notice they'd woken Remus, but when they did, they turned to him and grinned._

_"Sorry about that," the boy with glasses said. His dark hair was messy in a deliberate way and he wore a smile that oozed mischief. "Didn't mean to wake you. The name's James Potter."_

_"I'm Sirius Black," the other boy said. His hair was lighter, longer, and curlier than both Remus' and James'.  
"My name is Remus Lupin," he replied quietly, almost timid._

_"Nice to meet you, Remus," James said with a beaming grin that somehow put Remus at ease as he held out a hand that Remus shook. "So what house are you hoping to get in? I want to be put in Gryffindor like my Dad."_

_"Oh, I want to be put into Gryffindor, too. Unlike the rest of my family. They're all Slytherins," Sirius butted in with a look of great distaste._

_"Gryffindor would be nice," Remus agreed. "Or Ravenclaw, I should think."_

Remus was startled awake from the memory-filled dream. He looked around the compartment and saw a dementor attacking James- no, no those were Lily's eyes. A dementor was attacking Lily and James' son, Harry, who Remus hadn't seen since just before his best friends' death. He brought to the front of his mind happy memories of James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily and cast the patronus charm without a second thought. It was the very least he could do for the last tangible memory of Lily and James Potter.

Of all the people to end up in his compartment, the very one he'd met James in, it was Harry Potter.


End file.
